This series explores the rich diversity of my community, San Jose, California. Each month I collect material from a pile of yard waste in a different neighborhood. The material is plentiful as the land is fertile and the piles are collected by the city weekly, free of charge. I use the specimens to create a neighborhood “portrait” using inked plants to make marks on a substrate. Drawings add depth and context.

The work addresses some core impulses: a desire to draw parallels between the agricultural heritage of my region, and the landscape of the contemporary urban zone, a belief in the power of narrative to reveal new perspectives and ask critical questions, a search for radical authenticity, and an abiding fascination with plants and their intrinsic qualities.

Cambrian, June 2017

Cambrian, June 2017 (detail)

Cambrian, July 2017 (detail)

Cambrian, June 2017 (detail)

Evergreen, July 2017

Evergreen, July 2017 (detail)

Evergreen, July 2017 (detail)

Evergreen, July 2017 (detail)

E. San Jose, August 2017

E. San Jose, August 2017 (detail)

E. San Jose, August 2017 (detail)

Fairground, September 2017

Fairground, September 2017 (detail)

Fairground, September 2017 (detail)

Blossom Valley, October 2017

Blossom Valley, October 2017 (detail)

Blossom Valley, October 2017 (detail)

Alviso, November 2017

Alviso, November 2017 (detail)

Alviso, November 2017 (detail)

This series explores the rich diversity of my community, San Jose, California. Each month I collect material from a pile of yard waste in a different neighborhood. The material is plentiful as the land is fertile and the piles are collected by the city weekly, free of charge. I use the specimens to create a neighborhood “portrait” using inked plants to make marks on a substrate. Drawings add depth and context.

The work addresses some core impulses: a desire to draw parallels between the agricultural heritage of my region, and the landscape of the contemporary urban zone, a belief in the power of narrative to reveal new perspectives and ask critical questions, a search for radical authenticity, and an abiding fascination with plants and their intrinsic qualities.